A Shot At Love (Make That A Bottle)
by Neowrella
Summary: When Kim's family issues reaches their peak, she runs away from home and ends up outside Seaford high. One might guess who just happens to live nearby. And after a few drinks her little voice of reason might not be strong enough to stop her from doing something she might just end up regretting. - This is my first story. Will update if interest is shown-
1. Running away

!DISCLAIMER!

I do **not** own the Kickin' It characters in this story!

The only thing that belongs to me is the plot!

Kim Crawford walked with sturdy steps down the road. The thumps of her burgundy Converse repeatedly hitting the pavement was all that could be heard in the silent night. She was walking quite aimlessly really, not caring where her feet took her or where she would end up. All that was on her mind was that she had to get away. At least away from home.

When the Crawford family had sat down to dinner that evening, there had already been some unresolved business in the air between Mr and Mrs Crawford. The fact that Kim's younger brother kept complaining about the food didn't really do much to ease their mother's temper, and when dinner came to an end, the adults were outright screaming at eachother. Kim got fed up with her parents childish behavior, implied aloud what "good examples" they were portraying and slammed the door behind her as she left the house.

That wasn't the first time her parents got into an ugly fight and she knew it would certainly not be the last. Considering it happened on an almost daily basis, you would think she would have gotten used to it. The thing was, the fights were getting worse. She couldn't remember them ever being as bad as they had been this particular night. It was really just a matter of time before violence got involved.

Kim closed her eyes tightly, trying to keep the ridiculous tears from rolling down her cheeks. No tears in the world would make things better, so shedding them just felt like a waste of energy. She focused her eyes on the ground again in fear of walking straight into a pole (yes, she had the tendency to do that sometimes).

Before she knew it she was standing in front of the tall, massive building that was Seaford High. Kim's head fell back against her shoulders as she read the big, silver letters etched to the brick wall. For a moment she wanted to turn around and keep walking until she fell over the edge of the earth. But when her worn out legs gave in under her, she collapse against the wall and decided it would have to do. A swift breeze swiped past her and made the wet streaks on her cheeks go cold. _Great, I can't even succeed with keeping my own tears at bay, _she thought, wiped her face on her sleeve and took a deep breath as her scalp made contact with the bricks.

All of the sudden, Kim felt a vibration in her jack pocket. Relieved when she realized it was just her phone, she stuck her hand inside her jacket and pulled it out. It announced that she had a new text to read. With a sigh, she opened it.

**Message received from "Grace"**.

Wanna c'mover n watch a movie at my place? I've got Chan-Tat's l8est on Blueray! O M G! Haw-tee alert! ;)  
Btw, u left ur headphones here grl!

_Grace,_ Kim sighed. While silently debating on whether or not to explain the situation, she was simultaneously fighting the growing feeling of loneliness. Eventually she decided that her best friend deserved to know, plus she wasn't the worst company in the world.

Can u meet me instead? I'm at the school entrance.

Need 2 talk.

She pressed send and the text was on its way. Now Grace didn't live more than five – maybe six – minutes from school and Kim knew that getting a text like that from your closest friend would reduce the time dramatically.

While tucking the device back into her pocket, her eyes landed on the bottle she had carried under her jacket, pressed tightly against her body. She wasn't exactly sure of why she took it, it was really just an act of impulsiveness. Her brain didn't participate in that decision but now that she was actually considering the consequences of jugging down the entire bottle, she wasn't sure it was really worth it just to forget about her troublesome life for one night.

Kim pulled it out and held it up to her face. The label on the glass bottle read "_Midori – melon liqueur_" and since she had no idea of what it was (she just grabbed the first thing she saw that looked exciting) she unscrewed the cap and sniffed at the emerald green liquid. The strong scent of melon and alcohol pierced through her nostrils and buried itself deep in her lungs.

Her heart started pumping and she felt a strange rush run through her body. It may come as a shock to some, but Kim Crawford had never tasted alcohol before in her life, not counting the one glass of champagne she had on her cousin's wedding once. Considering the fact that she was just sixteen years of age, it wasn't really weird but some people start early.

Despite her voice of reason screaming, begging her not to do it, she brought the cool bottle up to her lips and rested it against her bottom one a few seconds before tilting it upwards and closing her eyes. She held her breath as she took in a huge amount of the liquid, not allowing herself to breathe again until she had swallowed. Kim grimaced when it burnt her throat on the way down and shook her head slightly to rid herself of the feeling. The aftertaste actually _did_ taste a bit like melon which made her smile – she loved it! Well, despite the strong flavor of alcohol, but she could live with that. Happily, she took another swig. And another. And another. It got easier and easier to ignore the alcohol and after a while, all she could taste was the melon.

_This is SO good! _she thought as she clasped the bottle harder in her hands.

AN: I am well aware of the fact that this was a _really_ short chapter, but it's just the beginning. If you like it then I will continue to upload new chapters (I probably will anyway).


	2. Company

AN: Got really positive feedback on the previous chapter and I was so glad :D tnx! So here is another one, as promised! ;)

Grace stared at her phone for a moment. What was Kim doing at school, at this hour? Something had to be seriously wrong for her to walk all the way over there, considering she lived pretty far away. So there was no time to lose then.

"We need to go and meet up with Kimmie." She stated and jumped up from the black couch in her living room.

"What? Why? What's happened?" Claire asked, a bit puzzled about the sudden stress. "Isn't she coming here?"

Grace switched her pajama shorts to a pair of jeans as she tried to answer Claire's questions as best she could.

"I don't know. She didn't say, but she's at the school entrance and apparently she needs to talk, so get a move on!" She spoke rapidly as she buttoned up her pants, closed the zipper and ran down the stairs.

Claire gave a sigh, lifted the blanket off of her legs and followed Grace downstairs.

"Woah, woah. Where's the fire, girls?" Grace's dad asked as she tore her jacket down from the hook in the hallway and turned to tie her shoes. "Where're you going?"

"Just meeting Kim, don't wanna be late." Grace smiled quickly before grabbing a hold of the doorknob and turning to Claire who was far from done. "Come _on_!"

She grunted angrily in response. It wasn't that she didn't care, cuz she did. But it wasn't like Kim was going anywhere, now was it? There wasn't a house on its way of burning down to the ground and they were the only ones who could put it out. Grace seriously needed to chill. At this rate, she would be completely run-down at the age of twenty-five.

"Done?" She asked and Claire grunted again. "Good. See you later, dad."

The door slamming shut in his face cut off whatever response he was going to give. Since he knew his daughter, he just sighed and smiled while shaking his head.

"Grace!" Claire called after her friend who were running ahead of her the whole time. "She's not dying! Can you calm the freaky frooker down?"

Though Claire's none-use of profanities used to crack her up, this wasn't really the right time to be laughing your ass off. Grace knew she might be overreacting, but she knew of the things that went on in Kim's house. She was just scared of the fact that it might have gotten worse. That's why she didn't dare to slow down before Kim was in sight.

"She's not feeling well, Claire. Something is wrong." She called back over her shoulder and slowed down just a tad as the tall school building rose above the treetops. "Who knows what she might do? What could happen?"

"Come on, you and me both know Kim's the strongest one of us. If anyone messes with her, she'll kick their butts!" The redhead said, utterly convinced that nothing was wrong. "She's a strong, independent girl!"

Grace rolled her eyes and kept going, just ignoring Claire's ignorance. She knew better.

Soon enough, they reached the outskirts of the schoolyard and pressed on towards the entrance. When they got closer, they could see a small figure sitting on the ground while leaning against the wall. It had to be Kim.

"Kim?" Grace called out and its head lifted lethargically and turned to stare at the new arrivals.

"Kimmie?" Claire repeated as they walked closer to her, noticing something was very... off. "You okay, hun?"

"Hah." Kim chuckled and smiled at them with sleepy eyes.

Grace creased her forehead and as she examined her best friend. Her stare fell on something laying neatly in Kim's lap while her hand convulsively gripped around it.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." She muttered as she glared at Kim.

"What?" Claire's head snapped towards Grace as she went over to Kim and pulled something out of her arms.

"She's drunk!" She said and held up the empty bottle of Midori so Claire could see it.

She gave a few giggles but stifled them quickly under Grace's hard stare.

"Sorry." She mumbled as Grace looked down at her best friend and sighed. "What do we do now?" Claire asked.

"Don't know." She admitted. "Guess we'll just have to wait it out..."

They sat down on either side of their drunk friend and stared at her.

"I love you." Kim said sheepishly. "Both 'o ye!"

AN: Will be going away for four days but will have loads new material when I come back :)


	3. Drunk distress

AN: Wey! Tnx to you all for the super nice reviews and to answer some of your questions:

1. Kim's drunk behavior will show up in this chapter!

2. Jack's appearance? I promise it will happen very soon (but to build up a story, you need some background info, right?

Tnx again and keep reviewing! It makes me _so _happy :)

Kim's continuous giggles kept disturbing the peace that the nightfall had brought, which caused her friends to keep their eyes glued to her swaying form.

"Okay, hun?" Grace suddenly interrupted and caught a smile from her friend. "Tell us what happened. Why are you sitting here, completely wasted?"

"And where'd you get the booze?"

Grace gave Claire a disapproving look at her question but quickly turned back to Kim when her mouth opened.

"Hah, cuz mah legs were tired, silly!" She giggled again and faced Claire on her other side. "It's really good, you should try some!"

"I would, but it's kinda empty, you know."

"Haha!" Kim laughed when she saw the bottle Claire was holding. "Whoops! Guess that was mah bad, huh?"

She leaned forward and crawled over to the topiary tree, using its trunk to get up on her wobbly feet. Grace's jaw was clenched out of worry while she watched her friend with unease. Claire on the other hand looked immensely amused at the sight of the girl who usually controlled all of her own actions, now getting really surprised when she couldn't even stand straight.

"Ehm, Kim. I think you should just sit down for a while." Grace called over to her and got up from the ground in anxiety.

"No can do, baby doll!" She slurred as she almost fell over for the third time. "I have to pee before ah make a mess of mahself. Will _not _be pretty!"

"Well, Grace lives nearby so if you can just hold it..."

"No time!"

Kim almost tumbled over as she tried to run behind the massive hedge on the schoolyard to do her business. Instead she collided with it and landed in the bushes. Claire burst out laughing like a hyena when all you could see of their friend was her legs sticking up into the air. It was a good thing she was wearing shorts.

As Grace tried to help the giggling Kim up again, Claire walked up to them, still laughing like a retard.

"You are one hilarious gal, Kim Crawford. I wish I could record this." She grinned and gripped her friend's arm.

"Oh, don't even think about it." Grace muttered as they pulled the blonde into a standing position. "She'll kick your ass tomorrow."

"Would be totally worth it." She smiled.

While rolling her eyes with a smile, Grace looked back at Kim and held her face between her palms, forcing her to look at her trough her half-lidded eyes.

"Sweetie? Listen to me; you are drunk. You need to sit down or at least stand still, otherwise the alcohol will travel trough your blood way too quick and you might just end up puking your guts out." When Claire stared at her with raised brows, she simply smiled and said; "Wikipedia."

"Sounds boring. I wanna go on the swings!" She cheered and stumbled away from the group with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Kim... the park is _that _way." Claire chuckled and pointed in the other direction, whereupon Kim ran past them like a whirlwind.

They knew that it would be hopeless to try and stop her once she set her mind to something, so without further ado, they followed their drunk friend as she skipped clumsily towards the park.

"Do you have any idea of what you're doing?" Claire questioned as they traveled down the road.

"Nope." Grace responded quickly. "But she wont listen to me – and you're not being very helpful –, so the best thing we can do is to just stay close and act as the safety net."

"Speaking of which..."

The redhead nodded towards the playground where Kim was in the middle of climbing into the nest swing. Halfway through her actions, she swayed and lost control of her limbs, resulting in another fall. With her back on the sand, her mouth opened in a silent, breathless laughter.

Her friends sighed but were at her side to help her up and untangle her foot from the swing.

"U guys are the bessssst!" She slurred and gave Grace a wet smooch on the cheek.

"Ugh,. Gross!" Claire said and grimaced in disgust.

Grace placed the drunk Kim in the swing before she wiped herself off on her sleeve and joined her. When the girls sat together, Kim apparently thought it would be a _great _idea to start singing _I'm alive_. Not to be mean or anything, but there are few people who can sing like Céline Dion and Kim wasn't one of them.

Claire and Grace stared at eachother with fingers in their ears while she was stepping back and forth between them, singing higher and higher the further into the song she got.

"You think she'll be able to talk tomorrow?!" Claire yelled above the singing.

"Dunno! But I seriously doubt it!" Grace answered and couldn't help but giggle slightly as she looked up at Kim who had her eyes pressed together out of concentration.

Claire pulled out her phone and slid a finger across the screen to unlock it. As she logged into her Facebook account, Grace leaned forward to watch what she was doing to pass the time until Kim sobered up.

"Hey, look!" The brunette said after a while. "Jack's birthday is tomorrow."

"Technically today." Claire corrected her. "It's half past twelve."

"I feeel liiike..." The singing stopped. "Jack?"

The girls looked up at her blush with a small smile on their lips. Yes. They knew almost _everything _about her secret crush on the other black-belt – her closest guy friend – Jack Brewer. Now that Kim was drunk she might be brave enough to reveal the details on the topic.

"Yeah, Kimmie." Grace prompted. "Your Jack."

"He's turning seventeen. As we speak." Claire added as a smile spread over their friend's face. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Kim opened her mouth and let out a girlish scream that caused her friends ears to ring. She couldn't believe she had forgot about his birthday and the fact that it was tomorrow... today... whatever. Deciding she needed to at least apologize for forgetting his birthday, she jumped down and landed on her knees in the sand.

"Hey, where're you going?" Grace asked as Kim used her hands to get up on her feet for the fourth time that night.

"Jack's." She called over her shoulder with a smile. "I forgot his birthday! I owe him an apology and a congratulations!"

"Well, it's not that far from here..." Claire said with a calculating face. "Maybe two or three minutes away."

"Claire, seriously." Grace said and gave her a look that questioned her sanity. "What'll happen if she shows up at Jack's in the condition she's in right now?"

"I don't know." She said and shrugged her shoulders. "But we'll go with her, no harm done! Besides, they're friends. What's the worst thing that could happen?"


	4. Birthday boy

AN: Sorry I'm late! I know it might seem weird that this harmless little story is rated M, but trust me. For the chapters I've planned out, M was the least I could rate :)

So happy about receiving so much positive response! Tnx! You keep me going! ^^

"Yo, it's midnight." Jerry stated and tapped Milton on the shoulder.

"Oh, right. Happy birthday, Jack!" Milton said and smiled at the webcam while Jerry looked more confused than ever. "What?"

"I was thinking more about midnight-snack,.. but yeah, happy birthday bro!"

"You guys haven't changed a bit." Eddie chuckled. "Congratulations, mate."

"Thanks." Jack grinned and ran his fingers through his brown locks. "Can't say the same thing about you, though, Ed."

The gang had arranged a video get-together over Skype so they could see and talk to Eddie again. Since he moved to England, he had been really busy and rarely had time to sit down in front of the computer and talk to his friends in America. But finally, they had managed to gather the whole gang in the same conversation, apart from Kim's unexplainable absence, and they got to talk to their friend again. But boy, had he changed.

Eddie had always been the round little guy with a cute, boyish face but when they stared at their screens that night, all they saw was... a man. He had gotten rid of all his "baby fat", grown a lot taller (from what they could tell) and developed a slightly British accent. The move had certainly done him good.

"Where's Kim?" Eddie asked after a while of smalltalk. "I thought she was supposed to join us."

"She was." Jack said and frowned. "But for some reason, I can't get a hold of her. I've sent her over fifteen texts, tried her home number and called her cell twice. It just goes straight to voicemail."

"Yeah. Same here." Milton admitted. "She must've turned off her phone, though I don't understand why she would do that."

"You have killer mustard, yo." Jerry walked into Milton's room in the background, carrying a plate full of this and that. "Check out this massive hotdog!"

He held it up in front of Milton's webcam so Eddie and Jack could see. Inspecting it up close, it didn't even look edible. It looked a lot more like...

"Clay!" Milton exclaimed and brought his hands up to his forehead. "That's my aunt's model clay, Jerry! That's not meat!"

"Oh.." He got a face of sudden realization. "That's why it had such a weird chew-feel."

"Consistency." The nerd said.

"Gesundheit."

Eddie laughed again as Milton rolled his eyes while Jerry ate of the other things on his plate. Jack just watched his friends with a smile on his face, still worrying sick about Kim not responding. What could she be doing that would be more important than this? He picked up his phone and dialed her home number again, hoping someone would answer this time. After four tones, there was a click and a voice answered.

"Crawford resident."

"Lucas?" Jack asked as he recognized the voice of Kim's younger brother. "It's Jack. Is Kim around?"

"Nope." He sighed and sounded sad. "We don't know where she is."

"What?"

"She just took off. No idea where to and she's not answering her cell, so.."

Jack turned away from his screen and stood up with a distressed face. This was not happening. Where could she be?

"Wha.. What happened?" He wanted to know.

"Our parents got into a fight again. Guess she just got sick of it." Lucas admitted. "I know I am."

"Have you searched for her?" Jack asked as his worry built up.

"I don't even know where to start."

_Fuck! _Jack thought to himself, _This is bad. Really bad. I have to do something, quick! _He hung up the phone and turned back to his computer. Since he didn't want to worry his friends or ruin their conversation with Eddie, he decided to come up with an excuse.

"I'm just gonna grab something to eat, you guys." He said and interrupted them. "Be right back."

"Okay."

He left everything just as it was and took the stairs in a few steps. While hastily putting on his jacket, he put his hand on the doorknob and was just about to open it when his mother appeared behind him.

"Jack?" She said as she squinted her eyes against the moonlight seeping in through the windows. "Where're you going?"

"Mom!" He exclaimed in surprise. "Shit, you scared me!"

"Language, Jackson!" His mother scolded him in a harsh whisper. "And keep your voice down. Greg's sleeping."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to wake him." Jack added sarcastically with a bitter tone, more to himself than out loud.

"Where are you going?" She repeated, ignoring his last comment.

"To Kim's. We're.. eh.. gonna watch..a movie?" His lie was completely see-through but he hoped that she would be way too tired to start an interrogation.

"Sure." She said, apparently not convinced. "Just.. don't mess this up. She's a sweet girl."

Jack's brows furrowed. What the hell was she talking about? He never talked to his mother about his feelings or his inner thoughts. How could she have known about his feelings for Kim?

"What're you-"

"Oh, sweetie. Don't act so surprised." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not blind and you're not stupid."

He just stared at her, at a loss for words.

"Goodnight, son." She whispered and started walking away. "Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah?" He answered automatically.

"Happy birthday."

He gave a little smile as she closed her bedroom door after her. She remembered. Jack had been almost convinced that she had forgotten, considering the fact that she and Greg were going away to Tijuana for a week to attend one of Greg's closest friend's wedding. Why they had to stay an entire week was beyond him, but at least he got rid of Greg.

His mother's new fiance was a complete prick when she wasn't around. He never liked Jack and Jack didn't like him. The only time they got along was when his mother was in the same room. But the upside? He was rich. Filthy rich. The house he had forced them to move to (the reason Jack came to Seaford) was _huge_. It included a big backyard, an enormous swimming pool with a connected hot tub and a long bar built for parties, which was exactly what Jack had planned for his birthday. If he was going to live in luxury for the rest of his life, he might as well share it with his friends. Plus, the party would drive Greg insane and that made Jack laugh every time.

He returned to reality and turned to open the door. But his hand stopped just before it made contact with the handle. He had heard something – or someone – lean heavily against the door, making it press inwardly just a tad.

Jack listen intensively for another sound from the other side of the door. A few minutes went by without any results and he was getting impatient. Just as he was going to open it, armed with one of Greg's golf clubs, there it was. The smallest sound of a weak hand hitting the cherry wood.

There was a knock on the door.

AN: Again, so sorry I'm so delayed. Have been rather busy with my social life. :( Will try to upload the next chapter either later today or tomorrow! Stay awesome! :D


	5. Come inside

AN: So glad you liked the previous one! Here's another one for you!

"Well, here we are, Kim."

Claire smiled as her friend stared up at the high gate blocking Jack's driveway. Kim couldn't remember his house ever being this big but gripped the metal bars without a doubt.

"Claire, I'm not so sure about this." Grace said while biting her bottom lip, making Claire turn to her with a sigh. "We're supposed to be her safety net, not encourage her drunken ideas."

"Grace, you know how long it took until she revealed her feelings for Jack to us. She'll _never_ tell him anything unless she gets a little.. nudge.. in the right direction."

"Yeah, well that _nudge_ might just end your friendship if it all goes south." Grace muttered.

"It wont." She ensured her. "He's her friend. Worst case scenario, they'll just stay friends. It's not like she's going to remember it anyway."

As much as she hated to admit it, Claire had a point. Kim seemed like she was way too drunk to recall any of the night's events tomorrow. Just as Grace was going to carefully agree with the redhead, Kim's blonde hair blowing in the wind caught her attention.

"What the hell?" She called out as she took in the scene.

Kim had tried to climb the gate and was almost at the top when they noticed her. She just smiled and waved at them like an idiot.

"Kimmie?" Claire said as she walked up to the gate, pushing it out of her way in the process. "You _do_ know it's open, right?"

"Pshh! Pfft! Huh." Kim made weird noises. "I.. knew that."

Grace face palmed hard as Kim awkwardly climbed down and joined her friends on the ground. Claire just kept on laughing as they walked up the driveway to the huge mansion.

When they were almost at the front door, – maybe a few yards away – Claire tugged at Grace's arm and stepped closer to her ear.

"What?" Grace responded, obviously annoyed.

"We should let her go alone." She whispered. "Drunk or not, there's no way she's gonna say a thing about it as long as we're with her."

"Sure, sure. And while we're at it, why not blindfold her _and_ _push her off a cliff_!" She said, trying really hard to keep her voice down, despite her growing anger.

"Grace, she's my friend too. I would never hurt her on purpose." Claire said while staring her in the eye. "You know I'm right, otherwise you wouldn't have followed us in here."

"A decision I'm starting to regret.." Grace mumbled.

They stared at eachother while the brunette was having an inner debate on whether or not she should admit that Claire had yet another point or if it would fill her head with enough air to lift her off the ground. Eventually she was yanked out of her thoughts when Kim called after them.

"What're you doin?" She frowned. "Aren't you guys coming?"

Claire turned to Grace, a patient expression on her face. She was leaving the decision up to her. Grace gritted her teeth behind her lips as she glared at Claire. No point to resistance. She knew what she had to do.

"No." She sighed, admitting defeat. "We'll.. wait for you. Out here."

"Go get him, tiger!" Claire winked and pulled Grace around the corner.

"Okay!" Kim grinned and stumbled up the small staircase to Jack's front door.

As she reached the flat surface of his front porch, her head was spinning like crazy and she found it really hard to stay on two feet. She lost balance and fell against the dark, wooden door with a loud thump. It took all of the power she had left to lift her hand and leave a soft knock on the door.

Just as she was starting to believe that no one would answer and that she would have to knock again, the handle clicked as it turned and she fell straight through the doorframe, caught by something both tall and strong before she could hit the ground.

"Kim?" The well-known voice spoke and his hot breath fell on her bare neck.

"Hey, look. You're home." She smiled up at him and closed her eyes.

Jack sighed and shook his head. He could smell the alcohol on her, its scent sticking in his nostrils, so he lifted her up in his arms bridal-style before closing the door with his foot and walking downstairs.

"Okay, let's go."

"Where.. where're we going?" Kim slurred into his chest.

"To my room, Kimmie." He chuckled once, silently. "You're staying here tonight."

Her head move a bit and Jack assumed that she was trying to nod in agreement. He felt so relieved that he had found her and despite the condition she was in, at least she was alive and safe now. As they reached his bedroom, Jack walked up to his bed and put Kim down gently. Catching a small whiff of her perfume, he felt his heartbeat speed up and his mouth go dry. She suddenly opened her eyes with much effort and stared up at his face, her hair a mess around her head.

"Thank you." Kim mumbled and gave a small smirk.

"Don't thank me yet." He winked and returned the smile, going over to his laptop with the ongoing Skype call. "I found Kim, guys."

"What?" Jerry and Milton said in surprise and got closer to the screen.

"Where?" Eddie asked.

"Outside my door." He told them, but lied up the rest. "Her cell died on her way over here because it was low on battery. Apparently her computer stopped working so she joined me instead."

Jack took his laptop off the desk and approached the bed with it. Sitting down next to Kim and leaning against the headboard, he placed the computer in his lap and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kim, you wanna say hi to Eddie?" He asked softly.

"Eddie?" She lifted her head slowly and focused her eyes on the screen. "Eddie!"

"Hiya, Kim!" He smiled. "So nice to see you and hear your voice again."

"You too! Wow, you've changed." She exclaimed and examined him. "You're a hot piece o meat now, Ed. Damn!"

The boys laughed as Kim smiled at their reactions. Jack knew that if he kept this up, Kim was _really_ going to make a fool of herself so he tried to wrap it up as quickly as possible.

"Look, as much as I'd like to continue this throughout the night, I feel it'd be best to get some shut-eye before I collapse." He said and yawned, causing Kim to mimic his actions. "And I think she needs it too."

"It's cool, Jack." Eddie said. "We'll talk some other day, hopefully."

"Yeah, and we'll see you tomorrow night for the party, dude." Jerry pointed out with enthusiasm. "Can't wait!"

"Technically today, Jer." Milton corrected. "But yeah, see you at the party tonight!"

"Bye guys." Kim smiled.

Jack exited the program and silence fell over the room. Well, that was until there was another knock on the door, a harsher one this time, and Jack got up on his feet to answer it.

"Are you expecting anyone?" He asked the sleepy Kim who only grunted in response.

With a grin, he walked up the stairs and entered the hallway to inspect the new visitors.

AN: More juicy chapters to come, but for now I'm going to sleep :) will probably update tomorrow!


	6. Playtime

"Do you see her?" Grace whispered to Claire while they hid in the bushes on Jack's property.

"Erhm..."

Claire stretched her neck above the hedge, giving her a clear view of the front porch. The _empty_ front porch. She swallowed hard and braced herself for the coming outburst.

"I.. think she.. went inside..." She mumbled and shamefully stared down at the grass.

A sarcastic laughter built up in Grace's throat as she yet again covered her face with her hand, the only thing showing was her disturbing grin. Claire dared to spare a quick glance at her friend before looking back at the ground.

"Let her go alone! Let her go alone!" Grace repeated Claire's words out loud while shaking her head. "If it turns out something's happened to her, I'll _kill _you!"

"I was just trying to help.." Claire muttered. "I still don't get why you're getting so worked up about this, considering the fact that they've known eachother for almost four years now."

"She's drunk!" She exclaimed as she stood up from their hiding place and started walking towards the front door. "She's unreliable, unpredictable and completely impulsive! Complete loss of control is a fact in her case."

"I'm not blind. I _have_ noticed." She said as she followed Grace up the driveway.

They climbed the stairs and stopped in front of the door, waiting to see if they could hear Kim from the other side. When it was obvious they couldn't, Grace raised her hand and knocked firmly on the wood.

"Now, you let _me_ do the talking." She said, seconds before the door opened and Jack appeared in front of them. "Hey."

"Um, hey." He said, the cogwheels working hard in his brain. "Oh! You must be looking for Kim."

"Yeah." Claire added in a shameful tone.

"Don't worry. She's downstairs, resting." He smiled and a sudden question popped into his head. "You've been at a party or somethin?"

"No." Grace shook her head again. "It's eh.. a long story."

"We'll tell ya tomorrow. We're still invited to the party, right?" Claire raised a brow in question.

"Of course." He nodded shortly. "And if you don't mind, I think I'll keep Kim here tonight. She doesn't look so good and I'm afraid that if we move her she'll get real sick."

"Oh, we understand." Claire responded.

There was a short silence as Grace stared up at Jack, looking as if she was trying to probe his very soul. Eventually, she opened her mouth to answer him.

"Then you better look after her, Jack." She spoke slowly. "I know you guys are really good friends, but you're still a guy and if I find out that-"

"Wow, Grace, chill." Jack interrupted her, frowning. "I'd never hurt her. But if it makes you feel any better, I promise I wont touch her."

"Good." She swallowed and got out of his face, walking carefully down the stairs, a bit reluctant to leave.

"Sorry." Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. "She's just.. well, you know how it is. When it comes to your friends..."

"...you'll go to any lengths to protect them." He finished with a crooked smile. "I get it."

Claire gave a compassionate smile, bid Jack goodbye and ran after Grace. He watched them for a while as they left his property. Knowing he should be annoyed at Grace for questioning his intentions, he found himself in surprise as a heat rose in his chest. Their concern for Kim made him really happy, in a caring way. He was so glad she had other friends, apart from the gang, that only wanted what's best for her, that cared about her.

When they were out of sight, he closed the door carefully and went back downstairs. Judging by her closed eyes and relaxed face muscles, Jack was pretty sure that she had fallen asleep during his conversation with her friends. He smiled when he realized she had repositioned herself to spread out across the bed. Not that it really mattered, though. It was a fairly wide bed and it could easily fit five people across if they all were as short as Kim. He decided to let her sleep, so to keep his promise to Grace (even though it felt quite lame) he figured he would just crash on the couch in the next room. But just as he was turning away, he remembered something he had forgotten to do.

"Shit." He swore quietly to himself, making Kim stir uneasily.

Jack had completely forgotten to order the ice for his party the next day. How would people stay cool in the hot summer night? How many complaints would he receive from both the guests and the bartenders? Ice was essential. He scanned the bed for his laptop and located it just above Kim's head. On the other side of the bed, on the other side of the room. With his floorboards being as inconvenient as they were, he was sure to wake her up if he tried to go around so there was only one alternative left; he had to reach for it.

Taking the few steps to the bed with complete caution, he estimated the distance from the bedside to the laptop and felt quite confident with his chances. Thanks to his long arms, it wouldn't be a problem. He took a deep breath, swallowed and carefully leaned over the blonde girl sleeping on his bed. Immediately, her perfume engulfed his senses and made him lightheaded. It was amazing how someone could smell so good, so perfect and innocently beautiful. He felt his heart start to pump faster again and tried to focus at the task at hand.

Kim let out a soft moan in her sleep and Jack stopped dead in his actions. His mouth had gone dry again and something stirred at the pit of his stomach. He was suddenly very aware of the constricting fabric of his jeans over his crotch and realized that he was getting a massive hard on. _Really? Now?_ He sighed inwardly and closed his eyes, trying to turn himself off with disgusting thoughts. It was of course then that Kim picked the perfect moment to turn over on, making Jack lose his balance and fall onto the bed beside her.

"Hm?" She grumbled as she opened her eyes to find him there. "Oh, you're back. Who were you talking to?"

"Grace and Claire came by looking for you, so I told em you were sleeping and that you'll call them tomorrow." Jack explained slowly so she could keep up. "Sorry that I woke you."

"You did?" She creased her forehead as she stared at his chest.

Before she could notice the bulge in his pants, he crossed his legs over it and gave her a faint smile. Her eyes looked back up at his face as she returned the gesture with joy. It was then that Jack noticed how close they were. If Kim tilted her head up, their noses would be touching. This made him even more nervous, but he tried to keep his cool.

"Wow." She said, eyeing him through heavy lids. "You're really beautiful, you know."

"How much have you been drinking, Kimmie?" Jack chuckled once, a blush rising in his cheeks, hoping it was too dark for her to notice.

"Just one." She grinned.

"Glass?"

"Bottle." She laughed as Jack's palm made contact with his face.

He rolled over on his back while letting out a sigh at his friends behavior.

"Oh, don't be such a bore, Jack." Kim giggled as she climbed up on him, straddling his hips.

"Kim!" He squealed but it was too late.

His erection came back with full power as she sat down over his crotch, his eyes wide with surprise. He couldn't believe what was happening, it was going way to fast. One minute they were talking to their friends over Skype, and in the other she was getting ready to ride the life out of him. He could barely breathe.

"What? Is _this_ a sensitive spot?" She whispered seductively with an innocent face, grinding her pelvis swiftly against his bulge to make a point.

Jack inhaled sharply through his teeth as he threw his head back. Kim moaned with satisfaction, causing his hard on to twitch.

"No." He grunted and with all the will power he had left in his body, he focused on the blonde girl sitting on his boner. "Kim, this isn't right. You're wasted."

"Not completely." She smiled and bent down closer to his face. "I'm sober enough to remember how to play."

He swallowed hard. A shiver of pleasure made its way through his body at her words. How many times was he going to be able to tell her no? He didn't have all the self restraint in the world, and besides... he had been dreaming of a scenario like this one for _years_.

"Well, Jack junior wants to play with me." She whispered, licked her lips and moved her hips again, making him close his eyes while breathing uneasy.

"Kim, please." Jack managed through his clenched teeth, feeling her slim fingers travel up under his shirt, caressing his muscular chest.

"Then stop me." There was a challenge in her words, like she was encouraging him to fight.

"I promised Grace... not to touch you." He gazed at her through half-lidded eyes, her head descending lower on his body.

"Well then, that'll make this a whole lot easier." She mumbled as she took to standing on her knees beside the bed, positioning herself between Jack's wide open legs.

He didn't realize her fingers were resting at the hem of his jeans until the sound of his zipper broke through his deep, ragged breaths. Immediately propping himself up on his elbows, legs hanging over the side of the bed, he stared at her as if he had seen a ghost. Kim pulled a sexy smile, lust burning fiercely in her brown eyes. He found himself unable to speak, as if his tongue had been glued to the roof of his mouth.

"Mmm." She moaned again while sweetly caressing his solid bulge, only the fabric of his boxers preventing skin-to-skin contact.

"Uh." Jack gave a sound as though he just lost his breath, keeping his heavy eyes intensively at her working hands.

Feeling his inhibitions slipping further and further away, Kim seised the opportunity to let her right hand trace its way up to the waistband of his shorts, make brief contact with his searing skin before sliding into his boxers and pulling out his hard shaft. Jack's head fell back against his shoulders as a low grunt rose in his throat. Why was he fighting it? He knew he couldn't stop her, even if he wanted to. She was as stubborn as ever.

His solid erection stood right up between her palms, waiting, teasing her in silence as Jack continued to breathe hard and loud. She brought her hand up to the tip and traced her thumb over the little pool of liquid oozing out from his tip, causing him to moan in a deep voice. Before she could take the time to actually consider what she was about to do, Kim dipped her head forward and closed her lips around his warm member.

Jack's whole body trembled in ecstasy from the close contact and when she started taking him in while applying some amount of suction, his hands involuntarily gripped her head, tangled themselves in her hair and followed her motions.

"Yeah.." He breathed heavily with closed eyes and gritted teeth. "Oh, yeah.."

Kim grinned inside her head, pleased with his surrender, as she traced her tongue up his throbbing member.

"Fuck..!" He cussed and convulsively forced her to deep throat him out of pure lust.

Luckily, she was somewhat prepared for it, considering how Jack's eyes rolled back in his head. She went faster obediently as he kept urging her, soon he was letting out constant grunts, etching closer to his peak for every second that passed. He suddenly gripped her arm and tried to pull her away before his release but she held on, bravely swallowing the lot as he let go completely of every muscle in his body that was holding him back.

"God!"

Jack called out as he wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and fell back on the bed in exhaustion. The hasty rise and fall of his chest was all Kim could see from her position. Wiping the corners of her mouth with her thumb, she placed herself on her stomach next to him on the bed. His arm was placed over his eyes as he struggled to regain control over his breathing, not seeming to pay any attention to her. That is, until he directed a question at her.

"What the _hell_, Kim?" He breathed in a weak voice. "Why did you-?"

He stopped in his sentence as he lifted his arm and glimpsed at her. She was fast asleep, her mouth hanging slightly open in the process. Jack sighed, stared up at the ceiling and decided it might be for the best. Honestly, he didn't really know what to say to her. Where did this put them? Were they still friends? More? Would she even remember it in the morning? Thousands of questions were zooming in and out of his mind, none of which he could actually answer.

Tucking himself back into his boxers, he zipped up his pants and carefully crawled up to put his head on one of his pillows, putting the other one under Kim's head. It wasn't until he felt completely comfortable that he realized how tired and exhausted he was. Without effort, he joined her in the sleeping process and left the problems for the future.

AN: So sorry that it has taken me all this time to update, but some of you wanted longer chapters so I really tried to make it a little bit longer, the only thing is that I've barely had any time to wright. I've got a new job so I've been completely busy. So as I see it, I have two choices: either do short chapters and update quick or do long chapters and update slow. Which one do you prefer? Again, so sorry and hope you enjoy the new addition.


	7. Hot and cold

"Uhng.."

A single movement to readjust her neck was made and the blonde girl gave a soft yawn. She cuddled up against the pillow beneath her head, trying to get more comfortable, before relaxing yet again and slowly letting her eyelids part. Odd. She couldn't remember ever owning a pair of black sheets... and _her_ room certainly didn't have any white walls, nor the lingering scent of cologne.

With a gasp, Kim sat straight up on the bed, suddenly wide awake as she realized where she was and remembered some of the events of the night before. The family dinner, the stolen alcohol, school... and of course, the small little detail about her whereabouts.

She had never been in that part of the house, Jack's bedroom, but had imagined it countless of times in her dreams. It always looked different depending on what the scenery was and had been everything from an indoor garden with unicorns to a dodgy dungeon with various "tools" and "gadgets". This seemed a little bit... plain in comparison to that, but she was thankful for it. Waking up on cold, stone floor would certainly not be on her top ten list of awesome mornings.

Just below the bed, a fluffy green carpet had been placed on the parquet and it looked soft enough to cradle a newborn seal. Alongside the wall in front of her, bookshelves stood neatly arranged, packed to the limit with records, video games, movies and awards. The smallest little pile – containing three slim books – rested at the bottom of one of the shelves. Kim knew Jack had never been much of a reader, but she didn't even in her wildest dreams imagine it to be _this _bad.

Opposite the foot of the bed stood a big, black desk and positioned on top of it was his laptop. Just above the desk, a big plasma Tv had been mounted on the wall, perfect for movie nights or gaming. All in all, the room was every teenage boy's paradise.

Kim rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, swung her legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. The world started spinning. Her head felt like taffy and heavier than cement when she tried to move it around. Grunting once again, she fell back on the bed and caused a loud whining from the springs.

"Sleeping beauty decided to wake up."

She reopened her eyes to find Jack walking into the room, carrying a tray of something she could not see until he decided to set it down on the nightstand. Juice, eggs and bacon – he had made her breakfast in bed.

"I can't make pancakes.." He declared as he took a seat on the bed. "...for the life of me."

She didn't know what to say so she just gave a weak smile in acknowledge to him.

"Look, Kimmie.." Jack sighed, struggling with words. "I don't know.. how much of what went down last night you remember."

"Uhm.." She mumbled. "Not much."

A lie. Kim remember almost a little _too_ well what "went down" last night. _She_ did. And with a lot more courage than she could ever muster up while completely sober. But she would never tell him. What if he thought she was completely disgusting and pathetic now? Nothing better than all the other whores in school? She couldn't take that. Not from him.

"Oh." He sounded surprised, pleasantly surprised. "Okay."

There was a numbing silence where Kim pretended to be more tired than she was while Jack was seemingly deep in thought. Eventually, the scent of the bacon was too much for her rumbling stomach and she carefully sat up, reaching for the plate.

"I hope it's not too awful." He said as she closed her lips around a mouthful of it.

"Jesus!"

Before the bacon could make contact with her tongue, she let it drop down on the plate again. In desperation, she reached for the glass of juice.

"That bad huh?"

"Hot!" She said between the gulps.

That made him laugh. She loved his laugh; how cute the dimples looked in his cheeks, its contagious abilities. What would she do without him? When she realized she was outright gawking at him, she quickly resumed her eating.

"Oh, by the way – before I forget; Grace has been calling you non-stop ever since I plugged your phone in." Jack looked tired as he spoke, nodding his head towards the desk.

"Great." Kim blurted out through the food in her mouth.

Still chewing, she stood up and went over to Jack's desk to pick up her phone. He had been telling the truth. Twenty four missed calls and only one of them had been from her home number. She decided to call her brother's cell, not really wanting to speak with her parents but still didn't want them to worry.

A couple of minutes passed and then there was a click in the speaker.

"Mhm?" Judging from his voice, Lucas had been fast asleep.

"Hey Luke." She said. "I woke you up?"

"Mhm." He grunted again. "Nice to hear your voice, though."

Kim smiled.

"I need to ask a favor." She started.

"Of course you do."

"Could you just tell mom n dad I'm alive and ok? I don't wanna talk to them but I don't want them to worry about me either."

Lucas gave a tired sigh and swallowed a few times before speaking again.

"They already know." He said while yawning. "I told 'em yesterday."

"Wait, what?"

So her brother started explaining himself to his very confused sister, trying hard to remember how to have a normal conversation despite his overgrowing fatigue.

"Jack called last night, laid down the situation and told me that you were ok." He said slowly. "And not _too_ drunk."

"Oh, he did, did he?"

Kim shot a glare in Jack's way as he tried to look innocent with a guilty smile on his lips. She melted.

"Don't worry, Kirby." He snickered with a hoarse voice, using her ridiculous nickname. "I wont tell, but you owe me big time."

"Ugh, fine." She sighed.

"See you tonight, Kirby."

"I told you to stop saying that!" She murmured into the phone and hung up while he was still laughing his ass off.

Jack laid back on the bed while keeping his eyes on Kim as she held her forehead, rubbed it slowly and directed her steps back towards the tray containing her breakfast.

"Trouble?" He asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Why did you have to go and invite my brother?" She complained while poking the egg yolks with her fork. "Now I feel like I have to babysit all night. How am I suppose to relax?"

"I can think of a few ways." He mumbled to himself, grateful she didn't hear it. "I think you're overreacting. He's only a year younger than us and since you haven't turned seventeen yet, you two are approximately the same age right now."

He earned another glare combined with a pout of her lush lips. He just grinned back at her and opened his mouth to tease her some more when he was cut short by a determined knock on the door.

"And that would be Grace?" She suggested with a question attached to it.

"Well, I have a hard time believing it could be anyone else at this hour on a saturday morning." He scratched his scalp lethargically and scrambled off the bed. "You comin'?"

"Yeah."

Kim stuffed the rest of the food inside her mouth and placed her plate back on the tray, along with the empty glass. Before she could move to pick it up, Jack lifted it up with one hand and walked towards the doorway. She just rolled her eyes and followed, knowing resistance would be pointless.

"Could you get the door? It's probably for you anyway, so." He nodded towards the hallway as they ascended from the stairs. "I'm just gonna drop this off in the kitchen."

She smiled and could have sworn she saw some nervousness flash before his eyes for just a split second before he turned away. Dismissing the thought with the fact that she was both hung over and tired, she moved to open the front door. But what met her eyes was not the face of the girl she knew and loved. It was something different all together.

"Good morning, miss." The short man in the grey jumpsuit said while pulling out a pamphlet from under his arm. "Is there a Jackson Brewer in the house?"

"Uhh..." Kim was at a loss of words.

"I'm Jackson." Jack said as he sneaked up behind her and put one hand on her shoulder and the other on the door, pushing it open further.

"Your order on the fifteen lbs of ice has arrived." He said and adjusted the cap on his head. "Please sign here."

The man held out the pamphlet to Jack and gave him a pen from the breast pocket of his jumpsuit. Jack quickly jutted down his signature on the empty line and handed it back to the man on his front porch.

"Great. So where do you want it?"

A few more men walked up the stairs, pushing cardboard boxes in front of them, into the house.

"Oh, uh." Jack looked around the house. "Just.. put them in the backyard."

He pointed his thumb over his shoulder and the men followed his directions, going out the back and dumping the boxes carefully. The short man with the pamphlet returned to the truck in Jack's driveway.

"I guess I was wrong, for once." Jack creased his forehead.

"_What_? Am I hearing this right?" Kim's eyes grew big as she stared at him. "Is Jack Brewer finally admitting defeat in something? This is going down in history."

Jack gave her a sarcastic smile as the men passed them by on their way out. She stretched out her tongue at him as he closed the door after them which caused him to swallow hard, remembering where that tongue had been. Silence yet again as Kim noticed the look on his face. It felt so awkward, even though she tried to act as if she didn't remember a thing.

"Well, I should.. take care of eh.." He finally said and gestured towards the boxes, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Y-yeah, I need to uhm.. call Grace.. so..." She responded and turned to walk back down the stairs to his room.

_What have I done? _Kim thought to herself when she was alone. _Will we ever be able to look eachother in the eye again without feeling uncomfortable? _She ran a hand through her hair as she picked her phone up again and dialed Grace's number.

_What am I gonna do?_

_AN: _yeaaah... work... soo.. here's another chapter, sorry for the delay.. trying to be as quick as possible. Keep reviewing, you guys are awesome! :D


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